Paul Steinberg, who died Friday, served as vice president and dean of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for 50 years. He was 79.

Steinberg’s service to the institution began in 1955. He held various positions, including deanships of the Rabbinical School, the School of Education, the School of Sacred Music, and as dean of the New York School where he served the longest tenure of a dean in the history of the College-Institute. He also assumed responsibilities for the development of the Jerusalem branch of the college. At the time of his death, Dr. Steinberg served as vice president for communal development.

He also served on the boards of the Jewish Braille Institute, the Albright Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem, the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and the Dorot Foundation. He was president of the Gimprich Foundation.

Steinberg earned his B.S. in social science at City College and an M.S. in educational psychology at the School of Education at City College. He was ordained and received a master’s degree in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Institute of Religion in 1949. He received his doctorate in psychological services from Columbia University and taught at Hebrew University, New York University, Baruch College, and the Army Management School.

After serving for twenty years as spiritual leader of Temple Adas in Sag Harbor, the oldest congregation on Long Island, Dr. Steinberg was named rabbi emeritus. He received an honorary doctorate from Baltimore Hebrew University.

Steinberg, and his wife, Trudy, were honored by the College-Institute in 1998 with a special academic convocation and the establishment of the Dr. Paul M. and Trudy Steinberg Endowment Fund for the Teaching of Human Relations.

Steinberg is survived by his wife, Trudy; their children, Lonnie and Alan; and seven grandchildren.